With only three years of organized basketball under him -- just his raw talent and size alone he'd DOMINATE the Big Sky Conference. DOMINATE. ::edit:: Like, really, REALLY dominate.
Fair enough. I agree there's a good chance he'd have done extremely well. Not trying to grasp at straws here, but there definitely is a difference in how a good big man and a good guard would do in the Big Sky. But I pretty much agree Freeland would have seemed amazing had he played at Weber State. I just don't think that discounts what Lillard did there.
First of all, what team are we talking about? With the Blazers as currently constituted, he'd be a starter. For the Lakers, perhaps you'd be right. Yeah, they don't have those in Spain. That's why Pau Gasol never learned how to play. Too much what? Money? Playing time? Emotional baggage? You seriously think the most sought-after big man in Spain would go to the fucking D-League? That's called damning with faint praise.
He's certainly taller. And he has very nice skills. But I wouldn't call him "agile." If anything, Freeland is more agile, although undoubtedly less skilled. Freeland is like a poor man's David Lee, while Valanciunas is like a rich man's Ilgauskas. He has a chance to be Pau Gasol-esque, but that's asking a lot. He is lumbering, certainly if you put him next to somebody like, say, J.J. Hickson. He moves more like a Dikembe Mutombo: his blocks are from length and timing, not athleticism.
To be fair to Freeland, the guards on the GBR squad didn't look for him as much as I would have expected last night. He did seem willing, when he did get entry passes, to mix it up inside. With some NBA quality point guards, it's possible he could establish himself enough to get his minute count up at the NBA level. I do like that he can hit the occasional outside shot.
I noted that when his team came out of halftime, they looked for him with good results. They quickly outscored Lithuania about 6 or 8 points. He got into foul trouble so that soon stopped. As a rookie, NBA guards will ignore him on offense, especially if he fouls like he did. He's a mite flabby. He'll have to improve fast in fouls and body.
?? Are you sure you didn't have him confused with Robert Archibald? (They do actually have very similar faces.)
I was expecting more of a Noah/Chandler type of athlete with Jonas but he's not that. I like the Hibbert comparison, athleticism wise.
I find Freeland maddeningly difficult to assess. It is certainly true that he has never really been well-served by his PGs. Unicaja hasn't had proper PGs his whole time there. Contrast with Splitter, who was teamed with fellow Brazilian international Marcelinho while at Tau Ceramica (as it was then known). But also, I think Freeland is not demonstrative: he's not going to demand the ball. What he really needs is a Chris Paul type who takes him on as a project and chivvies him along, and directs him on the court and delivers him the ball. Not something he'd experience in Portland, either.
Jason Quick @jwquick Olshey said weekend meeting with Joel Freeland went well and both sides expressed interest in him joining Blazers for upcoming season
Ben Golliver @blazersedge After not saying much about Joel Freeland in recent weeks, Blazers GM Neil Olshey gave a very positive review ... Ben Golliver After not saying much about Joel Freeland in recent weeks, Blazers GM Neil Olshey gave a very positive review after Houston visit this weekend: "There's going to be a learning curve. There always is... I think he'll acclimate [to the NBA] pretty well. Physically he's an NBA player. He has good instincts. He's a worker. What I like about him, he's a big-time motor guy, he plays hard every possession, both ends of the court. Culturally he'd be great for us."
Ben Golliver @blazersedge Transcript: Blazers GM Neil Olshey Talks NBA Draft, Trades, Joel Freeland http://www.blazersedge.com/2012/6/2...l-olshey-talks-nba-draft-trades-joel-freeland
